David Neeleman is the most prolific airline creator of our times.
He co-founded Morris Air in the 80s and sold it to Southwest after less than a decade for $130 million. He co-founded Canada’s Westjet in the mid-90s and today it is Canada’s second largest airline. He founded NewAir in the late 90s which was re-branded as JetBlue before its first flights in 2000.
After being forced out from JetBlue due to a JetBlue operational meltdown during an ice storm in 2007 he went on to launch Azul Airlines in Brazil and he helped save Portugal’s TAP.
Breeze Airways launched last year, and Mr. Neeleman calls it an airline merging technology with kindness. He says it will be the nicest airline in the world with friendly policies and employees. He is trying to take a page out of the Jeff Bezos playbook, who says that Amazon strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. Whether that can be duplicated in an airline remains an open question.
You can download the Breeze app for iOS or Android, signup for an account, and instantly get 500 BreezePoints, worth $5 for airfare.
Breeze currently flies E-190 jets with 108 seats and E195 aircraft with 118 seats. All Embraer aircraft will be a two-by-two seat configuration, so there are no middle seats.
Starting on May 4th, they will start flying brand new Airbus A220 aircraft, ramping up to a fleet of 15 A220s by the end of this year and 80 A220s over 6 years. The A220s will include 36 premium cabin seats, called “Nicest” seating, in a two-by-two configuration at the front of the plane. It will also have 10 “Nicer” extra legroom seats and 80 “nice” seats in a two-by-three seat configuration.
Breeze will launch longer routes for the A220s in the coming weeks, but in the meantime you can fly the A220 on existing routes. Seats in the “Nicest” first class cabin will cost just $99 through 1/25. First class seats will feature a whopping 39″ of seat pitch and 20.5″ wide seats and a footrest.
Breeze first class “Nicest” seat:
The A220 will operate from:
Tampa, FL to/from:
- Akron/Canton, OH (starting 5/4/22) ;
- Charleston , SC (starting 5/4/22);
- Louisville, KY (starting 5/4/22);
- Norfolk, VA (starting 5/4/22);
- Oklahoma City, OK (starting 5/4/22);
- Richmond, VA (starting 5/4/22);
- Tulsa, OK (starting 5/5/22);
- Bentonville/Fayetteville, AR (starting 5/6/22);
- Huntsville, AL (starting 5/6/22).
Charleston, SC to/from:
- Providence, RI (starting 5/5/22);
- Richmond, VA (starting 5/26/22);
- Hartford, CT (starting 6/2/22);
- Huntsville, AL (starting 6/30/22).
Norfolk, VA to/from:
- Columbus, OH (starting 6/2/22);
- Hartford, CT (starting 6/2/22).
Hartford, CT to:
- Columbus, OH (starting 6/2/22);
- Pittsburgh, PA; (starting 6/2/22).
The $99 first class fare is a no-brainer:
Nicest books into first class, Nicer books into extra legroom, and Nice books into standard seating:
Here is the current Breeze route map, but it will be expending rapidly over the next 6 years as the airline will get a new A220 delivered every month!
Have you flown Breeze?
Does the “nicest” class include free baggage?
Yes, see the fare comparison chart in the post.
My folks are retiring to the Tampa area, too bad there isn’t any service to big hubs for a domestic connection after a flight from TLV!
Based on the A220 routes, it seems like they’re doing very well in TPA.
I’m sure they will expand from there.
I think Breeze’s whole point (at least for now) is to avoid big hubs. Others carriers already do big hubs. Certainly Breeze “needs” to differentiate.
Looking forward to them coming to Houston
Does David Neeleman have any connections with Avelo Airlines? There also a relatively new startup airline.
Flew Breeze from PVD to Charleston. It has to be one of the nicest flights we have ever experienced…
Why would I pay $99 one way with Breeze, when I could only pay $49 with JetBlue, AA, or Delta?
You can’t pay $49 for a first class ticket on any of those airlines without counting on a complementary upgrade.
need flights from Chicago
They should do N.Y. to Miami asap